VANCEBORO — A 31-year-old Ayden man was killed Saturday evening when his SUV struck a tree about six miles from Vanceboro.

Denolen Marteze Pugh, whose address was Hanrahan Road in Ayden, was reportedly dead before firefighters could remove him from his GMC Yukon.

N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper J.H. Midgette said Pugh was traveling north on River Road a little after 6 p.m. when his vehicle ran off the right side of the road. He apparently tried to steer back on the road and overcorrected, causing his vehicle to drive off the west side of the road, he said.

After crossing the road and a ditch, Pugh’s vehicle turned on its right side and slid into a large pine tree, crushing the roof over his head, Midgette said.

Pugh, who was employed at Weyerhaeuser, was not speeding and no one was in the vehicle with him, Midgette said.

Vanceboro firefighters and rescue personnel were hampered while trying to cut through the left door because the vehicle was in a difficult position and they did not want to jar it in case Pugh was alive and injured, Midgette said

But when they confirmed he was dead, they pushed the vehicle away from the tree, which was about two feet in diameter, and cut through the roof, he said.

Pugh’s body was transported to CarolinaEast, Midgette said.

Eddie Fitzgerald can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at eddie.fitzgerald@newbernsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @staffwriter3.